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Leviathan

Nikolay is in danger of losing his home. His pleas to the corrupt mayor of this small Russian village fall on deaf ears. The police and the church are all on the mayor's side. Even his wife ends up betraying him. Desperate, he turns to an old friend he served with in the army. But this friend brings even more trouble into Nikolay's life. Will he be able to overcome all these obstacles and save his home?

"At a time of ever-tightening censorship and repressive new laws, he has made a distinctly dissident film that's an open challenge to Putin's rule."-Anton Dolin, Film Comment
Yes, it is slow, bleak, and long, but what did you expect? This Oscar-nominated film from 2014 is maybe the most significant and powerful Russian film of recent years. Set in a small town, it re-enacts the Biblical story of Job, while also critiquing the corruption of Russian politics and the oppressiveness of the Putin regime and those, including the Church, who support him. It is grim, but rewarding and full of staggering imagery. An important film. "Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?"-Job

A dramatic, bleak, beautifully shot, and rousingly poignant snapshot of blatant bureaucratic corruption in a small Russian town. It's easy to see it as just commentary on contemporary Russian governance but in the end you get the feeling that the film is pointing to something larger about the nature of bloated bureaucracies and government. The title itself is a reference to the classic treatise Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Highly Recommended.

The film has sharp cut-a-ways from one scene to another, frequently leaving it to viewer to imagine what transpired between scenes...leaves a vacuum in plot. The acting is of high quality in spite of the chopped plot. Story is very depressingly Russian. Hopelessness instead of hope. The last scene is a lecture/sermon by Orthodox priest on truth that is very didactic.

Quotes

Vasiliy (priest) to Kolya: Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook, or tie down its tongue with a rope? Will it keep begin for your mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Nothing on Earth is its equal. It is king over all that are proud.